It’s breaking news that Fnatic expands into China as part of a policy of looking at Esports as a truly international phenomenon. The first step of this policy is a tie-up with the Chinese Esports agency B.O.O.T.

This will be aimed at boosting Fnatic as a brand within China. B.O.O.T. will be responsible for uploading video content, taking charge of social media and much more.

A challenging project

Patrik “cArn” Sattermon of Fnatic feels that one should not make the mistake of underestimating the market China has to offer.

Nevertheless, Fnatic will need local expertise to help deal with differences in language and culture. After all, these issues are more accentuated in China than in South East Asia, for example.

China is a country that has been giving consideration to Esports as sports. And then you have to consider that China has that massive player-base. With so many people playing, the next Esports greats could well arise in China. No team wants to miss out on picking up a new ‘rising star’. Obviously.

Fnatic feels that while Europe is an excellent power base, it does not offer the scope for expansion that China does.

Image Credit: Fnatic

Plans laid as Fnatic expands into China…

Although Patrik “cArn” Sattermon regards this partnership as a ‘feeler’ – an initial effort, he feels there is much more ahead.

Fnatic aims at attending as many Esports events in China as possible. They want to familiarize themselves with the country’s sponsors, while aiming to eventually showcase a roster holding an entire squad of Chinese players.

The world of Esports is truly international, making it increasingly important for a team to project presence on that scale. Such a presence can prove critically important to being able to grab the best players in the Esports industry before anyone else does.

Besides, China has a spending capacity equal in proportion to regions like South America and India. This availability of spending money within a country is of course essential to attracting crowds to big events. These are factors that lead to exponential growth in an industry.

Conflicting interests?

There might be some concern about conflicting interests as Fnatic expands into China. On the other hand, the current coach of the B.O.O.T. Counter Strike roster is an ex-Fnatic player himself.

CArn believes that even though both B.O.O.T. and Fnatic are competitors in the Esports world, this partnership can allow them to work together with a little mutual understanding.

CArn feels that Fnatic’s expansion into China will help in the expansion of CS:GO itself within China.

Content and Social Media

Before venturing any further, however, Fnatic wants to ensure that they are going to be able to make use of content originating in the West.

Their focus at the moment is on establishing links with social media hubs in China, and with networks distributing regional content.

The bottom line…

Fnatic’s relationship with B.O.O.T. is in its initial stages. Nevertheless, this partnership is something both organizations firmly believe in. They feel it’s just a matter of time before their relationship strengthens with each step taken together.

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